Driftwood
by Chaed
Summary: Three are taken. By the Capitol. Three suffer. For the Rebellion. Three lose. More than they have. [Johanna, Peeta, Annie]


**driftwood  
by chaed**

* * *

Four walls, a door and a leaking ceiling.

She thinks capture in the Capitol could be worse and laughs at herself for the naivety.

Xxx

After three days, her stomach revolts. She's mentally prepared for interrogation. That they'll just leave her to starve catches her off-guard. Do they think she will trade secrets for food?

Xxx

When they come for the first time, she's fierce. There's kicks and bites and scratches and she's proud of her silence.

Xxx

One eye is swollen shut. The throbbing in her head matches the dripping ceiling.

Still strong. She will never tell what she doesn't know.

Xxx

There's an air vent high up each wall. It's too small to fit through, she tried. And where would it get her, anyway? On the other side is only Peeta, and sometimes they scream competitively.

Xxx

Leaves. How strong and green they're in spring, so full of life. Their deep red tone in autumn, when they lay down to rest and crunch beneath her boots when she walks in the forest.

It must be autumn now, she's convinced. With all its lovely hues, like the color of her bruises.

Xxx

They're not happy with anything she says and sarcasm comes hard once they start with the shocks.

Xxx

Annie Cresta is taken by the Capitol. She's in the adjacent cell now and her cries are like a lullaby.

Xxx

Her fingers are shaking. Skin and bones. A fistful of hair. And the smell. Oh God, the smell is unbearable. Charred flesh. Tears come, and she curls up against the pain.

The ceiling drips.

She's so hungry.

What do secrets taste like?

Xxx

She worries when Peeta stops screaming so often and wonders if his throat is as raw as hers.

Xxx

Her body gets used to electricity. Blissful unconsciousness comes a lot faster than in the beginning.

Only the sound of dripping water follows her even there.

Xxx

They take her to The Box now. It's so small, she can't stand upright. There's a hole in the side, just big enough for ventilation. She can stick her hand through it and sometimes there's a ray of light reaching the tips of her fingers. She wants to think about 7, about home, but all the warmth really does is remind her that she'll never see a tree again.

Xxx

When they turn the water on in The Box, its like acid. Boiling. Freezing. She can't decide which hurts more. They promise to stop it if she talks.

She would, at this point, really. But don't they understand that she can't speak while drowning?

Xxx

They never turn it off completely. It bores holes in her skin. Eats away at her sanity, as it echoes off her metal coffin.

She wants to make a last stand, a final rebellion. Johanna Mason is going to die with a _purpose_, leaving a _message._

Xxx

She can stand it for a few hours, at most. Then the thirst comes. Like an avalanche it shatters what little resolve she had. When they turn on the water again she licks her skin for every drop and begs for more, even though it burns all the way down to her heart.

Xxx

At one point the hunger just stops.

Xxx

It's their final try. While she's panting from the latest soaking, they rig The Box and someone turns on the power.

She's jolted from one wall into another and there's electricity everywhere she touches. She convulses so hard that she froths at the mouth and the blood comes bubbling out her nose and her chest cramps up and the water and wont they stop her heartteethcracktheagony tearscan'tbreathe sevenissssSILENT

Xxx

Lightning cracks even the strongest tree.

Xxx

Her lips touch the ventilation hole of the Box. The trembling is so bad now, she can't control her movements. Her teeth hit the metal as she tries to coordinate her muscles.

It's a moan at first, then a croak, but it takes several attempts until it is a word. The voice that says it is so alien to her, she almost doesn't recognize it. It's less of a defeat, that way.

Xxx

"...pl..ea..se..."

Xxx

Like driftwood in the ocean, never reaching the shore and unable to drown.

Xxx

On the day after it's too late, the Capitol is invaded by rebel forces.

Three prisoners are freed and taken back to District 13.

It's a feast. A huge success.

Spurs on the rebellion.

People rejoice.

Three cannot.

One without sanity. 4.

One without memories. 12.

One without secrets. 7.

All broken.


End file.
